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happy to share our expertise. our

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How to make a delicious chocolate milk

Palsgaard Technical Paper, October 2010

Chocolate milk is a well-known and popular product

around the world. Except for a few products where
a visible sedimentation is desired, chocolate milk
is expected to be a homogeneous product without
visible sedimentation and creaming.
Most of the cocoa powder is insoluble in milk and
water meaning that if no precautions are taken, the
cocoa particles settle at the bottom and the text
shake before use will have to be written clearly on
the packaging.
This labelling has a negative impact on the
consumer. Further, for long shelf life products
creaming occurs over time - a process which can
also be delayed by taking appropriate action.

By Hanne K. Ludvigsen,
Product Manager Dairy and
Ice cream, Palsgaard A/S.

Forming the thixotropic system

Chocolate milk usually contains
up to 2% cocoa powder. In order
to make a homogeneous suspension of the cocoa particles in the
milk, a three-dimensional network
has to be formed. The cocoa particles are entrapped herein. When
shear is applied to the chocolate
milk the network is broken and
the viscosity decreases. When
the shear is removed the threedimensional network is restored.
It is a so-called thixotropic system.
The ingredients used to form
this thixotropic system are generally mono- and diglycerides
carrageenan and microcrystalline
cellulose. Mono- and diglycerides
further have an important function in preventing creaming in the
product.
The effect of
emulsifiers in chocolate milk
Mono-and diglycerides are emulsifiers produced by reaction of
edible vegetable fats/oils and glycerol. The result is a molecule with

Figure 1. Chocolate milk with and without sedimentation.

a hydrophilic and a lipophilic part

and consequently it is placed at
the interface between the fat/protein and water. This happens during homogenisation and ageing
of the chocolate milk. The monoand diglycerides form complex
with the whey proteins, making
the fat globule membrane more
resistant towards coalescence.
Hence they reduce fat separation
in the product. However, they also
reduce the net charge of the fat
globule membrane and thereby
increase the flocculation of the fat
globules forming a three-dimensional network, which increases
the creaminess in the milk.

Palsgaard Technical Paper, October 2010

How to make a delicious chocolate milk

The effect of
carrageenan in chocolate milk
Carrageenan is by far the most
commonly used stabilizer in
chocolate milk. Carrageenan
is extracted from seaweed. In
Europe carrageenans are divided
in 2 groups, refined carrageenan
(E-407) and semirefined carrageenan (E-407a). Both types are
applicable in chocolate milk.
Carrageenans are further grouped
in Kappa-, Lambda- and Iota carrageenan according to their chemical composition. It is especially
Kappa carrageenan, which has
found use in chocolate milk due
to its ability to react with the milk
proteins and form a three-dimensional network. The carrageenan

forms a helix with negatively

charged sulphate groups turning outwards. This helix interacts
with the positively charged casein
micelle. When carrageenan is
used as stabilizer, the chocolate
milk must be cooled down below 25C before filling, or cooled
down below 25C during constant
rotation if in can/in bottle sterilization is used. This is necessary
for formation of the carrageenan
network. Figure 2 across shows
how the network is formed in a
carrageenan stabilized chocolate
milk. Further storage of the chocolate milk should be below 30C as
the formed network breaks down
at higher temperature.
The effect of
the MCC/CMC complex
Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC),
or rather a MCC/CMC complex,
also finds application in chocolate
milk, however, often in combination with carrageenan. MCC is derived from plant fibres from which
the crystalline part of the cellulose
is extracted. When in dispersion
the MCC forms a three-dimensional network due to formation of
hydrogen bonds.

Figure 2. Formation of carrageenan network in chocolate milk.

Below 80C a change in temperature only has limited effect on

the functional properties of MCC,
meaning that cooling and storage temperature is less critical
when MCC is used. Consequently,
MCC based products are recommended when cooling below 25C
is not applicable or if the storage
temperature is higher than 30C
which is often the case in eg.
South East Asia and the Middle
East. MCC based products often
gives more body and creaminess
to the milk drink, which could be
another reason for recommending a MCC based solution. Figure
3 below illustrates the network
formation of MCC/CMC in which
the cocoa particles are kept in
suspension.

Figure 3. MCC/CMC network.

Palsgaard Technical Paper, October 2010

How to make a delicious chocolate milk

Finding the right

stabilizer dosage
The dosage of the stabilizer is
very crucial. Underdosing means
sedimentation in the chocolate
milk and overdosing results in
heavy body and gelation. When
working with carrageenan one has
to be very careful as the margin
between underdosing and overdosing is very narrow. The use of
mono- and diglycerides together
with carrageenan increases the
dosage margin of carrageenan
and at the same time reduces the
amount of carrageenan needed
for formation of a stable product.
This is due to the fact that the
mono- and diglycerides form a
network between the fat globules
and the whey proteins.
Further the dosage of the carrageenan depends on
The fat content of the milk.
Higher fat demands less
stabilizer
The cocoa content. Higher
dosage less stabilizer
The heat treatment. Sterilization demands less stabilizer
than UHT treatment which
again demands less stabilizer
than a pasteurised product

The dependence of stabilizer dosage to the heat treatment can be

explained as follows:
During heating to sterilizing or
UHT-temperatures the whey
proteins denaturate and become
less soluble. This causes further
agglomeration of the proteins with
the cocoa powder and fat. The
extent of agglomeration depends
on e.g. the type and time of heating, the homogenisation, the type
and amount of cocoa powder and
stabilizer, the milk quality including the protein quality and pH of
the milk.
As MCC doesnt react with the
milk proteins in the same way as
carrageenan the risk of separation
due to overdosing is less. However overdosing results in heavy
body and high viscosity.
The effect of the cocoa particles
The cocoa particles also strengthen the network formation, as
casein is adsorbed to cocoa particles. This adsorption takes place
almost immediately when milk
and cocoa powder are mixed. The
strength of the network is depending on the degree of alkalisation of

Figure 4. Guar gum and locust bean gum are also used as stabilizers for chocolate milk.

the cocoa powder. Cocoa powder

contains polyhydroxyphenols,
which during alkalisation polymerise to tannins known for its protein
binding properties. In general the
heat stability of chocolate milk is
lower than that of milk, however,
the closer the pH of the cocoa
powder is to the pH of the milk the
less impact it has on the stability
in the milk.
It is important to consider the
particle size of the cocoa powder,
as the formed network cannot
keep too heavy particles. It is
recommended that less than 0.5%
of the particles are larger than 75
micrometer.

Palsgaard Technical Paper, October 2010

How to make a delicious chocolate milk

We are experts in emulsifiers

and stabilizers for chocolate
milk - and we like to share our
knowledge
For many years Palsgaard has
supplied the dairy industry with
high quality emulsifiers and
stabilizers. In our well equipped
application labs in Denmark,
Singapore, Mexico and China
we are working on creating the
right blends for a given market
taking milk quality, recipe, process conditions as well as sensory
preferences into consideration.
Our equipment enables us to work
with as well pasteurized, UHTtreated as sterilized products and
to make shelf life studies covering
the entire shelf life of the chocolate milk.
Our products for chocolate milk
ensure uniform products with
good creaminess and mouth
feel and high storage stability.
An example of a carrageenan
based product for chocolate
milk is Palsgaard ChoMilk 150
composed of mono- and diglycerides, carrageenan and guar gum.
Palsgaard ChoMilk 150 results
in a uniform chocolate milk with a
pleasant creaminess and mouth
feel. If it is difficult to cool down
the product below 25C after the
production or if the storage temperature of the product is above

30C, Palsgaard ChoMilk 170 is

applicable. Palsgaard ChoMilk
170 is declared MCC, mono- and
diglycerides, carrageenan and
CMC. This pro-duct is also applicable in chocolate milk drinks with
low protein content either due to
the protein content in the milk or
due to dilution with water to form a
chocolate milk drink.
Another product for low protein chocolate milk drinks is
Palsgaard ChoMilk 159 composed of mono- and diglycerides,
carrageenan and locust bean
gum. As this product is carrageenan based like Palsgaard ChoMilk
150 attention should be paid to
filling and storage temperature.
All mentioned products result in
a uniform product without visible
creaming and sedimentation and
with a pleasant creaminess and
mouth feel. Palsgaard ChoMilk
150 and Palsgaard ChoMilk
159 are both integrated products
meaning that by using the spray
cooling technology the stabilizer is
coated by the emulsifier.

Free flowing properties

Uniform product, no risk of deblending during storage and
transportation of the emulsifier/stabilizer mixture
No dust formation
Addition to the milk without
premixing with sugar

Due to its total composition

Palsgaard Chomilk 170 is a dry
mixed product and the suspension
of the product in the milk is facilitated by dry mixing the product
with sugar before addition.
For further information on the
abilities of Palsgaards emulsifier
and stabilizer blends for chocolate
milk, or if you would like to request
a sample, please contact Product
Manager Hanne K. Ludvigsen
at hkl@palsgaard.dk or Tel. +45
7682 7682.

Compared to a dry blended

product an integrated product has
several advantages:

Palsgaard Technical Paper, October 2010

How to make a delicious chocolate milk